Grand Belize: Mar 11—21, 2010

Combines the best of Belize—the Pine Ridge region with its spectacular scenery, one of the world's greatest jungle lodges, several rarely seen and highly sought birds among a list that should approach 300 species, and fantastic waterbird spectacles.

American Pygmy Kingfisher— Photo: Kevin Zimmer

We are pleased to offer this comprehensive tour to the premier birding locales in the popular country of Belize (formerly British Honduras). Our journey begins at the Crooked Tree region, renowned for its excellent waterbirds. We will spend time exploring the expansive wet and dry savannas, plus patches of coastal thorn scrub and the famous Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary where Jabiru, Agami Heron, and American Pygmy Kingfisher are among the many possibilities. A short flight to a nearby island should produce the highly sought Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, plus other regional specialties such as Black Catbird and Yucatan Vireo. Our next destination will be Hidden Valley Inn, located in the extraordinary Mountain Pine Ridge of south-central Belize. We are excited to present you with another fabulous destination in this wonderful country. Quite unlike the low-lying jungles at Chan Chich, Hidden Valley sits amid the pine and broadleaf forests of the Belizean highlands. We will have one-and-a-half-days to immerse ourselves in spectacular scenery featuring two enormous waterfalls, and the pursuit of two of the most rarely seen birds in Central America, the Orange-breasted Falcon and the Stygian Owl.

Our final destination is famed Chan Chich Lodge, thought by many to be one of the best ecotourist lodges in the world. Anyone who has had the privilege to visit Chan Chich has been very impressed with the comfortable facilities, the special ambience, and the overall superb birding. It's an ideal situation for both novice and veteran birders alike, especially those who wish to spend a short period of time enjoying fantastic birding at only one location. For many years this area was private property, inaccessible to the public. In 1988, the owner completed tourist facilities which permitted birders and naturalists to have the unprecedented opportunity to experience wildlife on hundreds of thousands of acres of pristine, subtropical moist forest.

If you've visited the ruins of Tikal in northern Guatemala or Palenque in southern Mexico, you will find that the habitats and the avifauna are similar at Chan Chich. The significant difference with Chan Chich is the lack of large villages, commercial establishments, vendors, discos, and continual flow of busloads of tourists. There is nothing to distract us from the wonderful sights and sounds of nature; we have the entire range of habitats exclusively for our own enjoyment. This is a region where rare and/or secretive species may still be encountered, many of which have been eradicated from Palenque and are increasingly endangered at Tikal. Great Curassow, Crested Guan, Tody Motmot, Gray-throated Chat, and Rose-throated Tanager are among the many targets here. Simply put, this may be the largest tract of undisturbed, easily accessible lowland forest remaining in Central America.

Excellent accommodations and food; swimming pools at all locations; easy to moderate terrain, considerable birding on foot (on easy to moderate trails); one morning boat trip; weather generally warm, sometimes humid.